Telecommunications chassis with slidable trays

ABSTRACT

A slide assembly for slidably coupling a telecommunications tray to a telecommunications chassis includes a rail configured for mounting to the chassis, the rail defining a rail sliding cavity flanked by a first detent adjacent a first end and a second detent adjacent a second end of the rail, the rail further comprising first and second chassis mounting features, the first and the second chassis mounting features are oriented with respect to each other such that if two of the same rails are aligned and brought together in a juxtaposed relationship with the first and second chassis mounting features facing each other, the first and the second chassis mounting features can nest relative to each other so as to not increase the total width of the two rails. A guide configured for mounting to the telecommunications tray defines a guide sliding cavity configured to slidably receive the rail such that the rail sliding cavity and the guide sliding cavity face each other, the guide defines a pin connected thereto via a flexible cantilever arm, at least a portion of the pin extending into the rail sliding cavity when the rail and the guide are in a sliding relationship for latching by the first and second detents of the rail in providing two predetermined stop positions for the guide.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/094,744, filed on Oct. 18, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,539,757, whichis a National Stage of PCT/US2017/027932, filed on Apr. 17, 2017, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/324,699, filedon Apr. 19, 2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. To the extent appropriate, a claim ofpriority is made to each of the above disclosed applications.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunicationsequipment. More specifically, the present disclosure relates toequipment designed for high density applications such astelecommunications chassis.

BACKGROUND

In the telecommunications industry, the demand for added capacity isgrowing rapidly. This demand is being met in part by the increasing useand density of telecommunications equipment, specifically, fiber optictransmission equipment. Even though fiber optic equipment permits higherlevels of transmission in the same or smaller footprint than traditionalcopper transmission equipment, the demand requires even higher levels offiber density. This has led to the development of high-density fiberhandling equipment.

Because of the large number of optical fibers passing into and out offiber optic equipment such as high density fiber distribution frames,such frames normally incorporate a variety of structures to organize andmanage the fibers. Such frames also include structures for facilitatingaccess to the densely packed terminations. Drawer-based systemsincluding slidable equipment-carrying trays are known.

Further developments in such systems are desired.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure relates to a telecommunications device in theform of a telecommunications frame or chassis. The telecommunicationschassis is a drawer-based system with sliding trays for providing accessto the equipment housed within the trays. According to one exampleembodiment, the telecommunications equipment housed within the trays maybe fiber optic devices.

According to one aspect, the disclosure relates to a slide assembly forslidably coupling a telecommunications tray to a telecommunicationschassis, the slide assembly comprising a tray rail configured formounting to the telecommunications chassis, the tray rail defining arail sliding cavity flanked by a first detent adjacent a first end and asecond detent adjacent a second end of the tray rail, the tray railfurther comprising a first chassis mounting feature and a second chassismounting feature, wherein the first and the second chassis mountingfeatures are oriented with respect to each other such that, if two ofthe same tray rails are aligned and brought together in a juxtaposedrelationship with the first and second chassis mounting features facingeach other, the first and the second chassis mounting features can nestrelative to each other so as to not increase the total width of the twotray rails. The slide assembly further includes a tray guide configuredfor mounting to the telecommunications tray, the tray guide defining aguide sliding cavity configured to slidably receive the tray rail suchthat the rail sliding cavity and the guide sliding cavity face eachother, the tray guide defining a pin connected thereto via a flexiblecantilever arm, at least a portion of the pin extending into the railsliding cavity when the tray rail and the tray guide are in a slidingrelationship so as to be latched by the first and second detents of thetray rail in providing two predetermined stop positions for the trayguide.

According to another aspect, the disclosure relates to atelecommunications system comprising a telecommunications chassis and atelecommunications tray that supports telecommunications equipmentslidably mounted to the telecommunications chassis between a storedposition and an extended position, wherein the telecommunications trayis mounted to the telecommunications chassis via a slide assembly. Theslide assembly further comprises a tray rail mounted to thetelecommunications chassis, the tray rail defining a rail sliding cavityflanked by a first detent adjacent a first end and a second detentadjacent a second end of the tray rail, the tray rail further comprisinga first chassis mounting feature and a second chassis mounting feature,wherein the first and the second chassis mounting features are orientedwith respect to each other such that, if two of the same tray rails arealigned and brought together in a juxtaposed relationship with the firstand second chassis mounting features facing each other, the first andthe second chassis mounting features can nest relative to each other soas to not increase the total width of the two tray rails. The slideassembly further includes a tray guide mounted to the telecommunicationstray, the tray guide defining a guide sliding cavity that slidablyreceives the tray rail such that the rail sliding cavity and the guidesliding cavity face each other, the tray guide defining a pin connectedthereto via a flexible cantilever arm, at least a portion of the pinextending into the rail sliding cavity when the tray rail and the trayguide are in a sliding relationship so as to be latched by the first andsecond detents of the tray rail in providing the stored and the extendedpositions of the telecommunications tray.

According to yet another aspect, the disclosure is related to atelecommunications system comprising a telecommunications chassisdefining a right wall, a left wall, and a center wall and a pair oftelecommunications trays each supporting telecommunications equipmentslidably mounted in a side-by-side horizontally stacked relationship tothe telecommunications chassis between a stored position and an extendedposition, wherein each telecommunications tray is mounted to thetelecommunications chassis via a slide assembly. The slide assemblyfurther comprises a tray rail configured for mounting to thetelecommunications chassis, the tray rail defining a rail sliding cavityflanked by a first detent adjacent a first end and a second detentadjacent a second end of the tray rail, the tray rail further comprisinga first chassis mounting feature and a second chassis mounting feature,wherein the first and the second chassis mounting features are orientedwith respect to each other such that, if two of the same tray rails arealigned and brought together in a juxtaposed relationship with the firstand second chassis mounting features facing each other, the first andthe second chassis mounting features can nest relative to each other soas to not increase the total width of the two tray rails. The slideassembly further includes a tray guide configured for mounting to thetelecommunications tray, the tray guide defining a guide sliding cavitythat slidably receives the tray rail such that the rail sliding cavityand the guide sliding cavity face each other, the tray guide defining apin connected thereto via a flexible cantilever arm, at least a portionof the pin extending into the rail sliding cavity when the tray rail andthe tray guide are in a sliding relationship so as to be latched by thefirst and second detents of the tray rail in providing the stored andthe extended positions of the telecommunications tray. A tray rail ofthe slide assembly is mounted to each of the right and left walls of thetelecommunications chassis and two of the same tray rails are mountedfacing each other to the center wall of the telecommunications chassisso as to capture the center wall thereinbetween.

According to yet another aspect, the disclosure is related to atelecommunications tray for supporting telecommunications equipment, thetelecommunications tray comprising a right wall and a left wall. Each ofthe right and the left walls include mounted thereon a tray guide of aslide assembly, the tray guide defining a sliding cavity that isconfigured to slidably receive a tray rail mounted to atelecommunications fixture. The tray guide defines a pin connectedthereto via a flexible cantilever arm, at least a portion of the pinextending into the sliding cavity such that when the tray rail and thetray guide are in a sliding relationship, the pin is configured to betemporarily latched by portions of the tray rail, wherein the tray guidedefines a latch slidably coupled to a first opening defined on each ofthe right and left walls of the telecommunications tray and an alignmentrim surrounding an aperture defined around the pin that aligns with andmates with a second opening defined on each of the right and left wallsof the telecommunications tray.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in thedescription that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individualfeatures and combinations of features. It is to be understood that boththe foregoing general description and the following detailed descriptionare exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broadinventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein arebased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer side of a tray rail of aninventive slide assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inner side of the tray rail ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the outer side of a tray guide ofthe inventive slide assembly of the present disclosure, the tray guideconfigured to mate with the tray rail of FIGS. 1-2 in forming theinventive slide assembly of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inner side of the tray guide ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 illustrates the tray rail of FIGS. 1-2 nested within the trayguide of FIGS. 3-4, the slide assembly shown in a stored position;

FIG. 6 illustrates the slide assembly of FIG. 5 in an extended position,wherein the tray guide has been moved and interlocked with respect tothe tray rail in a forward position;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example telecommunications tray configured formounting to a telecommunications fixture in the form of a chassis orframe using the slide assembly of FIGS. 1-6, the tray illustrated withthe tray guides of the slide assembly mounted thereon;

FIG. 8 illustrates the tray of FIG. 7 populated with telecommunicationsequipment in the form of fiber optic cassettes and mounted to atelecommunications chassis, the left wall of the chassis also being usedto illustrate how two similar tray rails of the present disclosure cancooperate and nest together when they share and are mounted on bothsides of a chassis wall such as a center wall separating twoside-by-side slidable trays;

FIG. 9 illustrates the two nestable tray rails of FIG. 8 in isolationremoved from the chassis;

FIG. 10 illustrates the tray of FIG. 8 in an extended position, whereinone of the fiber optic cassettes is also shown exploded off the tray;

FIG. 11 illustrates the tray of FIG. 10 populated withtelecommunications equipment in the form of fiber optic adapter blocksinstead of fiber optic cassettes;

FIG. 12 is a partially exploded view of a door assembly that includes aninventive hinge assembly according to the present disclosure, the hingeassembly configured for mounting the door to a telecommunicationsfixture similar to the chassis shown in FIGS. 8, 10, and 11;

FIG. 13 illustrates two of the door assemblies shown in FIG. 12 in afully assembled configuration, the door assemblies used on a chassissimilar to that shown in FIG. 12 but including two levels for supportingslidable trays;

FIG. 14 illustrates the upper door of FIG. 13 in a partially openposition;

FIG. 15 illustrates the upper door of FIG. 14 in a fully open position;

FIG. 16 illustrates the side view of a chassis similar to that shown inFIGS. 13-15 but including four levels for supporting slidable trays, oneof the four doors of the chassis shown in a fully open position;

FIG. 17 illustrates a perspective view of another example of atelecommunications fixture in the form of a chassis similar to thechassis shown in FIGS. 8, 10, and 11-16, the chassis shown with one ofthe trays thereof in a stored position and one in an extended position,with the door of the chassis in a fully open position allowing extensionof the sliding tray;

FIG. 18 is a side view of the chassis of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a front, top, left side perspective view of a hinge structureof the hinge assembly shown in FIGS. 12-18, the hinge structure shown inisolation;

FIG. 20 is a front, top, right side perspective view of the hingestructure of FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a side view of the hinge structure of FIG. 19;

FIG. 22 is a top view of the hinge structure of FIG. 19;

FIG. 23 is front view of the hinge structure of FIG. 19;

FIG. 24 illustrates a front, right side perspective view of a pair ofdoor assemblies, each including another example of an inventive hingeassembly according to the present disclosure, the hinge assemblyconfigured for mounting the door to a telecommunications fixture similarto the chassis shown in FIGS. 8, 10, and 11-18, wherein the upper dooris shown in a fully open position;

FIG. 25 illustrates the door assemblies of FIG. 24 from a front, leftside perspective view; and

FIG. 26 illustrates the door assemblies of FIGS. 24-25 from a right sideview.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to examples of inventive aspects ofthe present disclosure which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6, a slide assembly 10 having features that areexamples of inventive aspects in accordance with the present disclosureis illustrated. The slide assembly 10 is configured for use in atelecommunications fixture such as a chassis or frame for forming adrawer-based system with sliding trays for providing access to theequipment housed within the trays.

Examples of telecommunications chassis and trays that can utilize theslide assembly are illustrated, for example, in FIGS. 7, 8, 10, 11-18,and 24-26 of the present application, further details of which will bediscussed hereinafter.

Still referring to FIGS. 1-6, the slide assembly 10 is comprised of atray rail 12 and a tray guide 14 that slidably cooperates with the trayrail 12. The tray rail portion 12 of the slide assembly 10 is configuredto be mounted to the telecommunications fixture (e.g., a chassis/frame)and the tray guide portion 14 is configured to be mounted to theequipment trays. The slidable cooperation of the tray rail 12 and thetray guide 14 provide movement to the trays between stored and extendedpositions as will be discussed.

It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, for ease ofdescription and illustration, only one slide assembly 10 that can beused on one side of a chassis or a tray will be described herein withthe understanding that all of the features discussed are applicable tothe opposing side enabling slidable movement of the entire tray.

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view showing the outer side 16 of thetray rail 12, and FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective view showing theinner side 18 of the tray rail 12. As illustrated, for example, in FIGS.10-11, the outer side 16 of each tray rail 12 is configured for mountingto an interior face of a chassis wall.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the outer side 16, each tray rail 12 includes alatch 20 and a latch pocket 22 adjacent a front end 24 and a latch 20and a latch pocket 22 adjacent the rear end 26 of the rail 12. The trayrail 12 also defines a locking tab 28 toward the front end 24 and alocking tab 28 toward the rear end 26 thereof. The latches 20, the latchpockets 22, and the locking tabs 28 are all configured for mounting thetray rail 12 to a chassis wall, wherein these structures cooperate withintermating structures provided on the chassis wall for mounting thetray rail 12.

As shown, the latches 20 and the latch pockets 22 on the front and rearends 24, 26 of the tray rail 12 are positioned in opposite orientations.The locking tabs 28 are also provided in an opposite diagonalorientation, wherein the front locking tab 28 is closer to an upper edge30 of the rail 12 and the rear locking tab 28 is closer to a lower edge32 of the tray rail 12. This opposing configuration of the latches 20,the latch pockets 22, and the locking tabs 28 allows two similar trayrails 12 to be mounted in a juxtaposed relationship with a chassis wall(e.g., a center chassis wall) captured thereinbetween. As shown in FIG.9, when the outer sides 16 of two similar tray rails 12 are broughttogether, the latches 20 at the front end 24 can nest within alignedrespective latch pockets 22, and the latches 20 at the rear end 26 cannest within aligned respective latch pockets 22. As noted above, asimilar feature is provided for the locking tabs 28. When the outersides 16 of two similar tray rails 12 are brought together, the lockingtabs 28 of the tray rails 12 align in a nested overlapping or verticallystacked configuration without abutting each other.

An example of a telecommunications fixture in the form of a chassis 34is shown in FIGS. 10-11 with the tray rail 12 mounted to each of theright and left walls 36, 38 of the chassis 34. As illustrated by theleft wall 38 of the chassis 34, each wall 36, 38 defines a pair ofparallel openings 40 adjacent a rear end 42 and a pair of parallelopenings 40 adjacent a front end 44. One of the openings 40 of each pairis configured to receive a latch 20 and the other of the openings 40 ofthe pair is configured to align with a latch pocket 22 provided at thefront and rear ends 24, 26 of the tray rail 12 as shown in FIGS. 10-11.

Still referring to FIGS. 10-11, the latches 20 are slidably insertedinto their respective openings 40, and, as depicted, a rearward movementof the tray rails 12 brings both the front and rear locking tabs 28 intoalignment with tab openings 46 provided on the chassis walls 36, 38 tolock the tray rails 12 into place.

As discussed above, the tab openings 46 provided on the chassis walls36, 38 are sized large enough to be able to accommodate two locking tabs28 each in a vertically stacked arrangement to be able to allow a wall36, 38 of the chassis 34 to be used as a center wall that separates twohorizontal trays 48.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9, the configuration of the tray rails 12(and the intermating structures of the chassis walls 36, 38) allow theuse of the same rails 12 to be used on both sides of a chassis wall 36,38, allowing a chassis wall 36, 38 to be used as a shared center wallthat can separate two side-by-side slidable trays 48. The tab openings46 are sized to accommodate two locking tabs 28 in a vertically stackedarrangement. And, the front and rear latches 20 of one of the tray rails12 can nest within the front and rear latch pockets 22 of a juxtaposedtray rail 12 through the openings 40 provided on the chassis wall 36,38, allowing a single chassis wall to be used as a shared center wall.

Referring now to the inner side 18 of each tray rail 12, as shown inFIG. 2, on the inner side 18, a sliding cavity 50 is provided thatdefines a detent 52 adjacent the rear end 26 of the tray rail 12 and adetent 52 adjacent the front end 24 of the tray rail 12. As will bediscussed in further detail below, the front and rear detents 52 areconfigured to cooperate with a pin 54 provided on the tray guide 14 ofthe slide assembly 10 for fixing (at least temporarily) the trays 48 atstored and extended positions relative to the chassis 34 as noted above.

Still referring to FIG. 2, the sliding cavity 50 defines an open end 56at the front end 24 of the tray rail 12 for initially receiving the pin54 of the tray guide 14 when slidably placing the tray 48 within thechassis 34. The front end 24 of the tray rail 12 also defines a taperedportion 58 to act as a lead-in end to facilitate the relative insertionof the tray rail 12 into the tray guide 14 as will be discussed infurther detail below.

Still referring to FIG. 2, as the pin 54 of the tray guide 14 isinitially inserted into the sliding cavity 50, the pin 54 elasticallydeflects and clears a stop structure 60, a portion of which is locatedwithin the cavity 50. The stop structure 60 defines a taperedconfiguration to facilitate the insertion of the pin 54 into the cavity50. After the pin 54 has cleared the stop structure 60 and is within thecavity 50, an end 62 of the stop structure 60 that is at least partiallypositioned within the cavity 50 is configured to abut and provide apositive stop for the pin 54 during extension of the tray 48. In FIG. 8,the tray 48 is shown in the stored position, with the pin 54 of the trayguide 14 latched to the rear detent 52 of the tray rail 12. In FIGS.10-11, the tray 48 is shown in the extended position, with the pin 54 ofthe tray guide 14 latched to the front detent 52 of the tray rail 12.From the fixed (either stored or extended) positions, a force thatovercomes the biasing force applied by the flexible detents 52 to thepin 54 has to be overcome in order to move the tray 48.

Referring now to the tray guide 14, the details thereof are illustratedin FIGS. 3-4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the outer side 64 ofa tray guide 14, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inner side66 of the tray guide 14.

The outer side 64 of the tray guide 14 is configured to cooperate withthe tray rail 12 of the slide assembly 10. The inner side 66 of the trayguide 14 is configured for latching to a wall 68 of one of the slidingequipment trays 48.

The outer side 64, as shown in FIG. 3, defines a sliding cavity 70 forslidably receiving the tray rail 12. The sliding cavity 70 defines anopen end 72 for initially receiving the tapered lead-in front end 24 ofthe tray rail 12 and also a closed end 74 defining a stop for limitingfurther sliding movement of the tray rail 12 within the sliding cavity70 of the tray guide 14.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pin 54 of the tray guide 14 is positioned withinand has at least a portion protruding into the sliding cavity 70 and, asdiscussed above, rides within the sliding cavity 50 of the tray rail 12when the rail 12 and the guide 14 are in a sliding relationship. In FIG.5, the tray rail 12 is shown within the sliding cavity 70 of the trayguide 14, wherein the slide assembly 10 is shown in a stored positionwith the pin 54 of the tray guide 14 captured within the rear detent 52of the tray rail 12. In FIG. 6, the slide assembly 10 is shown in anextended position with the pin 54 of the tray guide 14 captured withinthe front detent 52 of the tray rail 12.

The stored position of the slide assembly 10 of FIG. 5 is alsoillustrated in FIG. 8 in the context of a chassis/tray system. And, theextended position of the slide assembly 10 of FIG. 6 is also illustratedin the context of a chassis/tray system in FIGS. 10-11.

Now, referring back to FIG. 3, the pin 54 is connected to the tray guidevia a flexible cantilever arm 76. In order to completely remove the trayguide 14 from the tray rail 12 and completely remove an equipment tray48 from the chassis 34, the flexible arm 76 has to be pushed or pried ina direction from the outer side 64 of the tray guide 14 toward the innerside 66 thereof to clear the stop structure 60 provided on the tray rail12.

Referring now to FIG. 4, the inner side 66 of the tray guide 14 isillustrated. The inner side 66 forms the tray-mount side of the trayguide 14, whereas the outer side 64 cooperates with the tray rail 12 inproviding the slidable motion for the tray 48. The inner side 66 definesan alignment rim 78 that surrounds an aperture 80 for accessing thecantilever arm 76. The alignment rim 78 is generally positioned toward arear end 82 of the tray guide 14. The inner side 66 also defines a latch84 that is positioned generally toward the center of the tray guide 14.As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 10, and 11, the latch 84 is slidably insertedinto an opening 86 defined on a tray wall 68 until the alignment rim 78aligns with and snaps into a larger opening 88 provided on the tray wall68 in latching the tray guide 14 to a tray 48.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, and 11, the tray guide 14 includes aflange 90 defining a mounting hole 92 for receiving a fastener forfurther securing the tray guide 14 to a tray wall 68. The rear end 82 ofthe tray guide 14 also defines a wraparound latch 94 that covers a rearedge 96 of the tray wall 68 and acts as an edge protector for any fibersleading toward the back of the chassis 34 during slidable movement ofthe tray 48.

As noted previously, the slide assembly 10 may be used to provide adrawer-based system allowing equipment carrying trays 48 to be accessedby sliding the trays 48 relative to a telecommunications fixture such asa chassis or frame. An example of such a chassis/tray system that hasbeen referred to above in describing the features of the inventive slideassembly is illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8, 10, and 11. As noted above,although need not be, such systems may be fiber optic systems and mayhouse equipment forming fiber termination points or connection locationsthat need to be accessed by the pull-out trays 48.

In the embodiment of the system illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10, the tray48, which is shown empty in FIG. 7, is shown as populated withtelecommunications equipment in the form of fiber optic cassettes 98 andmounted to a telecommunications fixture in the form of a chassis 34. InFIG. 8, the left wall 38 of the particular chassis 34 is being used toillustrate the possible nesting of two similar tray rails 12 if the leftwall 38 were to be used as a center wall separating two side-by-sideslidable trays 48. In the embodiment of the system illustrated in FIG.11, the tray 48 is shown as populated with telecommunications equipmentin the form of fiber optic adapter blocks 99 instead of fiber opticcassettes 98.

The illustrated telecommunications systems including the fiber opticsystems including the pull-out trays 48 and chassis 34 shown in FIGS. 7,8, 10, and 11 are simply example embodiments that can be used with theinventive slide assembly 10 described herein and are used to illustratethe inventive features thereof, with the understanding that theinventive features of the slide assembly 10 may be utilized on otherspecific or other types of drawer-based systems.

Referring now to FIGS. 12-23, a door assembly 100 for use on atelecommunications fixture such as a chassis similar to chassis 34 ofFIGS. 8, 10, and 11 is illustrated. The door assembly 100 includes adoor 102 that is configured to be mounted to a front end of a chassisand a hinge assembly 104 used in mounting the door 102. The hingeassembly 104 allows the door 102 to be pivotally moved between a closedposition and a fully open position. The door 102 includes aspring-loaded latch 106 for keeping the door 102 in the closed position.An example embodiment of the latch 106 is illustrated in FIGS. 12-18,with the understanding that other various latch designs may be utilized.

It should also be noted that, unless otherwise specified, for ease ofdescription and illustration, the door assembly 100 and the hingeassembly 104 will be described with respect to only one side thereof andwith respect to only one side of a chassis with the understanding thatall of the features discussed are applicable to the opposing sideenabling opening and closing of the door 102.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 12, the door 102 of the door assembly100 defines a door pivot pin 108. As shown, the door pivot pin 108 isspaced apart from a front face 110 of the door 102, the reason for whichwill be described in further detail below.

Still referring to FIG. 12, each of the right and left walls of thechassis 34 (only the left wall illustrated for simplicity) includes ahinge pivot pin 112 and a hinge stop pin 114.

A hinge structure 116 of the hinge assembly 104 provides the pivotalconnection between the door 102 and the chassis 34. The hinge structure116 defines a first pin receiver 118 adjacent a front end 120 forreceiving the door pivot pin 108. The hinge structure 116 defines asecond pin receiver 122 toward a center portion 124 of the hingestructure 116, spaced apart from the first pin receiver 118, forreceiving the hinge pivot pin 112 of the chassis 34. The hinge structure116 further defines a hinge limit slot 126 adjacent a rear end 128thereof, spaced apart from the second pin receiver 122. The hinge limitslot 126 is configured to receive the hinge stop pin 114 of the chassis34. The hinge structure 116 is shown in isolation in FIGS. 19-23.

After the hinge structure 116 has been mounted so as to provide aconnection between the door 102 and the chassis 34, a fastener 130 isremovably mounted to the hinge pivot pin 112. The fastener 130 allowspivotal motion of the hinge structure 116 while keeping the hingestructure 116 coupled to the chassis 34. The door 102, via the doorpivot pins 108, are captured against the chassis 34 by the hingestructures 116 at the right and left walls of the chassis 34.

The door assembly 100 and the hinge assembly 104 are configured suchthat the hinge structure 116 provides two pivot points for the door. Theinteraction of the door pivot pin 108 and the first pin receiver 118allows a first pivoting motion for the door 102, wherein the door 102 ispivoted with respect to the hinge structure 116. The interaction of thehinge pivot pin 112 and the second pin receiver 122 allows a secondpivoting motion for the door 102, wherein the hinge structure 116,itself, and the door 102 are both pivoted with respect to the chassis34.

Now referring to FIGS. 12-16, regarding the first pivoting motion forthe door 102, the position of the door pivot pin 108 being spacedforward of the front face 110 of the door 102 allows the door 102 to bespaced forward enough to clear a door 102 therebelow when in a fullyopen position. This is shown in the side view in FIG. 16. When the door102 is open 180 degrees, due to the forward position of the door pivotpin 108, the door 102 is spaced far enough forward to clear and be infront of the door 102 therebelow.

Still referring to FIGS. 12-16, regarding the second pivoting motion forthe door 102, given that the hinge structure 116 is also able to pivotwith respect to the chassis 34, provides further movement to the pivotpoint established by the door pivot pin 108 of the door 102 and thefirst pin receiver 118 of the hinge structure 116. Such further travelallows the door 102 to be positioned below a horizontal plane P_(H)defined by a bottom wall 132 of that level of the chassis 34. As such,the door 102, when fully opened, does not interfere with the slidableextension of the tray 48 at its respective level on the chassis 34. And,as noted above, when fully opened, is positioned far enough forward soas to clear the door assembly 100 (including the latch 106 of the door102) and the hinge assembly 104 therebelow.

As shown in FIGS. 12-16, the hinge structure 116 defines a lower arch134 at a bottom portion 136 thereof for allowing the hinge structure 116to clear the door 102 below when the door 102 is in the fully openposition. The accommodation by the arch 134 of a door 102 therebelow isshown in detail in FIG. 16.

As shown in FIGS. 12-16, the interaction of the hinge stop pin 114 andthe hinge limit slot 126 provides positive stops for the movement of thehinge structure 116 during its pivoting motion so as to limit the travelof the hinge structure 116. The size and shape of the hinge limit slot126 is configured to provide positive stops at the desired closed andopen positions for the door 102, as illustrated in FIG. 16. According tocertain embodiments, during the opening of the door 102, if the hingestructure 116 is pivoted first, the hinge limit slot 126 provides a stopfor the hinge stop pin 114 when the door 102 has been opened about 35degrees from a vertical plane P_(V). This position is shown in FIG. 14.Once the hinge stop pin 114 has contacted a lower end 138 of the hingelimit slot 126, the door 102 can now be pivoted with respect to thehinge structure 116 to allow the door 102 to open past the 35-degreeangle to the fully opened position, which is shown in FIGS. 15-16.

The hinge structure 116 also defines a hinge wall 140 that is configuredto be contacted by the door 102 during the pivotal closing motion of thedoor 102. In moving the door 102 to the closed position, after the door102 goes through its initial first pivoting motion, the door 102contacts the hinge wall 140 to start moving the hinge structure 116 forthe second pivoting motion. The interaction between the door 102 and thehinge wall 140 allows a technician to bring both the door 102 and thehinge structure 116 to their original positions with a single smoothmotion.

As noted above, once the door 102 is brought to its closed position, thedoor 102 is latched to the chassis 34 via the spring-loaded latch 106.When the door 102 is in the closed position, the door 102 rests againstthe hinge wall 140.

Still referring to FIGS. 12-16, it should be noted that a rear portion142 of the hinge structure 116 defines a smooth arched profile at anupper end 144 thereof. The smooth profile of the upper arch 144 providesedge protection to any fibers that may be in the area during trayextension.

In FIGS. 17-18, the door assembly 100 and the hinge assembly 104 areshown as being used on an embodiment of a telecommunications chassis 146that includes features such as the slidable trays 48 discussed above. InFIGS. 17-18, the depicted chassis 146 is shown with one of the trays 48thereof in a stored position and one in an extended position, with thedoor 102 of the chassis 146 in a fully open position allowing extensionof the sliding tray 48.

Now referring to FIGS. 24-26, a door assembly 200 including anotherexample of an inventive hinge assembly 204 according to the presentdisclosure is illustrated. FIG. 24 illustrates the door assembly 200from a front, right side perspective view. FIG. 25 illustrates the doorassembly 200 from a front, left side perspective view. And, FIG. 26illustrates the door assembly 200 from a side view.

A majority of the configuration and functionality of the door assembly100 of FIGS. 12-23 is shared by the door assembly 200 of FIGS. 24-26.Similar to the door assembly 100 of FIGS. 12-13, the door 202 of thedoor assembly 200 of FIGS. 24-26 also goes through multiple pivotingmotions when being moved between the open and closed positions due to asimilar combination hinge structure 216.

The hinge assembly 204 of FIGS. 24-26 is similar in structure andfunction to the hinge assembly 104 of FIGS. 12-23 described above exceptfor a few differences. For example, as shown, the hinge structure 216 ofthe hinge assembly 204 of FIGS. 24-26 includes a spring-loaded pull-pin214 that has to be pulled out and cleared from a pin opening 226provided on the chassis before the hinge structure 216 can be pivoted.The pull-pin 214 and the pin opening 226 provide a variation on thehinge stop pin 114 and the hinge limit slot 126 features of the doorassembly 100 of FIGS. 12-23. Whereas the hinge stop pin 114 and thehinge limit slot 126 features of the door assembly 100 of FIGS. 12-23are in full interaction throughout the entire travel motion of the hingestructure 116 and limit the travel path of the hinge structure 116, thepull-pin 214 is simply used to unlatch the hinge structure 216 toprovide for a further pivoting action for the hinge structure 216 infully extending a tray out of the chassis in the embodiment of the doorassembly 200 of FIGS. 24-26.

Similar to that provided by the hinge assembly 104 of FIGS. 12-23, if apiece of equipment inside the chassis needs to be accessed withoutnecessarily removing a tray therefrom, the door 202 can simply be openedwithout the need for the further pivotal action of the hinge structure216.

In the embodiment of the door assembly 200 of FIGS. 24-26, if the hingestructure 216 has been pivoted and the door 202 has been fully opened,then, when the door 202 is brought from the open position to the closedposition, the pull-pin 214 has to be pulled out until the pin 214 ispositioned in the pin opening 226 before the hinge structure 216, thus,the door 202, can be brought to the fully closed position.

Although in the foregoing description, terms such as “top,” “bottom,”“front,” “back,” “right,” “left,” “upper,” and “lower” were used forease of description and illustration, no restriction is intended by suchuse of the terms. The telecommunications devices described herein can beused in any orientation, depending upon the desired application.

Having described the preferred aspects and embodiments of the presentdisclosure, modifications and equivalents of the disclosed concepts mayreadily occur to one skilled in the art. However, it is intended thatsuch modifications and equivalents be included within the scope of theclaims which are appended hereto.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A slide assembly for slidably coupling atelecommunications tray to a telecommunications chassis, the slideassembly comprising: a tray rail configured for mounting to thetelecommunications chassis, the tray rail defining a rail sliding cavityflanked by a first detent adjacent a first end and a second detentadjacent a second end of the tray rail, the tray rail further comprisingat least one chassis mounting feature; and a tray guide configured formounting to the telecommunications tray, the tray guide defining a guidesliding cavity configured to slidably receive the tray rail such thatthe rail sliding cavity and the guide sliding cavity face each other,the tray guide defining a pin connected thereto via a flexiblecantilever arm, at least a portion of the pin extending into the railsliding cavity when the tray rail and the tray guide are in a slidingrelationship so as to be latched by the first and second detents of thetray rail in providing two predetermined stop positions for the trayguide, wherein the tray guide defines at least one tray mountingfeature.
 2. The slide assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least onechassis mounting feature defined by the tray rail includes first andsecond chassis mounting features that are defined by tabs protrudingfrom a face of the tray rail.
 3. The slide assembly of claim 2, whereineach of the first and second chassis mounting features is defined by alatch and an adjacent latch opening, wherein the orientation of thelatch and the latch opening of the first chassis mounting feature isreversed with respect to the orientation of the latch and latch openingof the second chassis mounting feature.
 4. The slide assembly of claim3, wherein the latch defined by the first chassis mounting feature isconfigured to align with and fit within the latch opening defined by thesecond chassis mounting feature when two of the same tray rails arealigned and brought together in a juxtaposed relationship with the firstand second chassis mounting features facing each other.
 5. The slideassembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one tray mounting featuredefined by the tray guide includes an alignment rim surrounding anaperture defined around the pin for aligning with and mating with anopening defined on the telecommunications tray.
 6. The slide assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the tray rail defines a stop feature for limitingfurther sliding movement of the tray guide relative to the tray rail ina separation direction and limiting removal of the tray rail from thetray guide once the tray rail has been inserted into the guide slidingcavity of the tray guide.
 7. The slide assembly of claim 6, wherein thestop feature is defined by a protrusion at least partially extendinginto the rail sliding cavity so as to abut the pin.
 8. Atelecommunications system comprising: a telecommunications chassis; atelecommunications tray that supports telecommunications equipmentslidably mounted to the telecommunications chassis between a storedposition and an extended position, wherein the telecommunications trayis mounted to the telecommunications chassis via a slide assemblyfurther comprising: a tray rail mounted to the telecommunicationschassis via at least one chassis mounting feature, the tray raildefining a rail sliding cavity flanked by a first detent adjacent afirst end and a second detent adjacent a second end of the tray rail;and a tray guide mounted to the telecommunications tray via at least onetray mounting feature, the tray guide defining a guide sliding cavitythat slidably receives the tray rail such that the rail sliding cavityand the guide sliding cavity face each other, the tray guide defining apin connected thereto via a flexible cantilever arm, at least a portionof the pin extending into the rail sliding cavity when the tray rail andthe tray guide are in a sliding relationship so as to be latched by thefirst and second detents of the tray rail in providing the stored andthe extended positions of the telecommunications tray.
 9. Thetelecommunications system of claim 8, wherein the telecommunicationschassis includes a plurality of the telecommunications trays in avertically stacked relationship.
 10. The telecommunications system ofclaim 8, wherein the telecommunications chassis includes at least two ofthe telecommunications trays in a side-by-side horizontally stackedrelationship with two of the same tray rails mounted facing each otherso as to capture a center wall of the chassis thereinbetween.
 11. Thetelecommunications system of claim 8, wherein the telecommunicationsequipment is in the form of fiber optic equipment.
 12. Thetelecommunications system of claim 11, wherein the fiber optic equipmentincludes fiber optic adapters providing connection locations.
 13. Thetelecommunications system of claim 12, wherein the fiber optic adaptersare provided on removably mounted fiber optic cassettes.
 14. Thetelecommunications system of claim 12, wherein the fiber optic adaptersare provided in the form of removably mounted adapter blocks.
 15. Thetelecommunications system of claim 8, wherein the at least one chassismounting feature defined by the tray rail includes first and secondchassis mounting features that are defined by tabs protruding from aface of the tray rail.
 16. The telecommunications system of claim 15,wherein each of the first and second chassis mounting features isdefined by a latch and an adjacent latch opening, wherein theorientation of the latch and the latch opening of the first chassismounting feature is reversed with respect to the orientation of thelatch and latch opening of the second chassis mounting feature.
 17. Thetelecommunications system of claim 16, wherein the latch defined by thefirst chassis mounting feature is configured to align with and fitwithin the latch opening defined by the second chassis mounting featurewhen two of the same tray rails are aligned and brought together in ajuxtaposed relationship with the first and second chassis mountingfeatures facing each other.
 18. The telecommunications system of claim8, wherein the at least one tray mounting feature defined by the trayguide includes an alignment rim surrounding an aperture defined aroundthe pin that aligns with and mates with an opening defined on thetelecommunications tray.
 19. The telecommunications system of claim 8,wherein the tray rail defines a stop feature for limiting furthersliding movement of the tray guide relative to the tray rail in aseparation direction and limiting removal of the tray rail from the trayguide once the tray rail has been inserted into the guide sliding cavityof the tray guide.
 20. The telecommunications system of claim 19,wherein the stop feature is defined by a protrusion at least partiallyextending into the rail sliding cavity so as to abut the pin.
 21. Theslide assembly of claim 1, wherein the at least one tray mountingfeature defined by the tray guide includes a latch for slidable couplingto an opening defined on the telecommunications tray.
 22. Thetelecommunications system of claim 8, wherein the at least one traymounting feature defined by the tray guide includes a latch that isslidably coupled to an opening defined on the telecommunications tray.